Floods create a muddy Middle East

Torrential downpours have caused flash-flooding across parts of the Middle East. The worst of the rain began to develop across the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula three days ago.

Qatar remains on the northern edge of a line of heavy showers which stretch from central parts of Saudi Arabia, through the UAE and right across Oman. This unsettled weather has tended to edge northwards then and south, spreading the rain across a greater area for a time, but essentially it is stuck over the same area.

At times there has also been heavy rain affecting Yemen leading to the flooding shown in some these pictures. Rainfall totals have been in the range of 30 to 50mm over a 24 hour period.

The heaviest rain reported is 51mm at Qalhat, which lies 170km to the southeast of Muscat. This unusually wet weather is expected to remain across the region for much of this week with signs of drier weather finally returning by Friday.